The French Victorious!! Battle of La Tour Sanglant

At last, good news for the authorities in Paris- French arms emerge victorious!  Vive l'empereur!

 

The "same old style"- that did just fine at Austerlitz and Jena- did just fine on Sunday as well!

This past Sunday at the monthly gathering of the West Tokyo Wargamers saw us playing Game #5 using the Black Powder rules, and it was a most exciting game, the decision being in doubt right up to the last few moves.

Other good news was that Achilleas has been accepted for his Phd program, which means that he will be staying on here in Japan for another three years.  Congratulations Achilleas, and we are glad that you will be with us for some good games to come!

On to the field of honour.  Achilleas and I were the French as usual, the army being led by General Tallon and his sizeable bureaucratic entourage.   Matt and Peter had the Brunswickers, British and some Russian artillery, all under the command of the Brunswicker General Schwartzotter.

Given physical limitations as a result of my recent -ahem- "indisposition", I was not able to sit down to finish anything new in time for the game.  Fortunately though, Achilleas could add a unit of cuirassiers, as well his recently-completed 57th reg. de ligne ("Le Terrible").  

For the Allies, Matt could boast his first unit of cavalry, a really attractive regiment of British 14th Light Dragoons.  These were some wonderful miniatures out of the Perry stables. 

This time there were only two units of unfinished miniatures on the table, so our games are starting to look serious affairs!

Turnout at the club was high, with upwards of twenty people taking part in games as diverse as 15mm ancients, D&D, boardgames and of course our own Napoleonics game.  Unfortunately, the club was only able to book one of the smaller rooms at the centre this month, so table space was at a premium. This meant that there would not be a lot of open flanks, so this would have to be another hard-pounding slugfest.

Both sides were pretty evenly matched.  Although the French had larger battalions, the Allies had rifle-armed units.  The 14th Light Dragoons- while not getting the Marauder rule- got the Ferocious Charge bonus.

It was decided that the French would once again try their luck as attackers.  Bien sur. The allies would benefit from the cover of the Tofusky Redoubt.  This time however, each side took turns to place a piece of terrain down on the table, and the Allied army- being the defenders- deployed first.  

We ended up with a layout and initial setup that looked like this.

click on map to enlarge

Note that the French decided to deploy their strength on the right flank, leaving the left relatively weak but with the cavalry in a position where there was at least some open ground. 

Previous games saw French advances grind to a halt due to unsupported units with inadequate reserves being shot up one after another as they approached the enemy line.  This time, we were going for an attack in depth along a narrow frontage in a relatively confined space. It was a plan that paid off- just!

The next post will see how the action unfolded.  Lots of pictures! Until then, here is a bit of subdued- yet dignified- humility in victory, First Empire style.